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SECTION             10



        LOSING YOUR                       ments have been completed. At the end of the    •  Failure to appear in court or respond to a
                                                                              citation;
                                          withdrawal period, a resident may apply for
        DRIVING PRIVILEGES                reinstatement and return of the license or the
                                          eligibility to obtain a license. Non-residents may     •  Non-payment of Child Support;
                                          apply for reinstatement of driving privileges.     •  Non-payment of the Super Speeder fee;
        This Section Covers                                                     •  Safety responsibility;
                                          Disqualification of Commercial
        Types of Withdrawals  ..........................................46   Driver’s License     •  Medical revocation;

        Reporting Convictions  ......................................... 46   If a commercial driver’s license is disquali-    •  Parent requested revocation (under age 18).

                                          fied, all privileges to operate a commercial mo-
        Types of Suspensions ..........................................   46   tor vehicle are withdrawn for a specific period of   The Department is required by law to sus-
                                          time. At the end of the disqualification period,  pend the privileges of an individual for a convic-
        Implied Consent ....................................................47
                                          if a licensee holds a CDL license that is not ex-  tion of any of the following offenses:
        The Points System   ............................................... 48   pired, the licensee’s commercial privileges will


         Points Reduction   ................................................. 48   be automatically restored without any action     •  Homicide by vehicle;
         Points Avoidance  ................................................. 48   required, provided that the licensee is otherwise     •  Feticide by Vehicle (1st degree);

                                          eligible to still maintain a commercial driver’s
        Safety Responsibility Law ...................................48         •  Serious injury by vehicle;

        Mandatory Revocations   ....................................... 48   license. If the licensee does not hold a CDL at
                                          the expiration of the disqualification period,     •  Driving under the influence of alcohol or
        Limited Driving Permits ......................................   48   the licensee’s ability to apply for a CDL will   drugs;
        Commercial Driving Disqualifications  ..............49   be restored.     •  Any felony in the commission of which a


         Major   Traffic Violations .......................................49     A disqualification of commercial driving   motor vehicle is used;

         Serious Traffic Violations   .................................... 49   privileges does not, by itself, result in the sus-    •  Using a motor vehicle in fleeing or attempting
                                          pension or revocation of a licensee’s privileges

        Other Violations  .................................................... 49   to operate a NON-commercial motor vehicle.   to elude an officer;
                                          However, many offenses that result in a com-    •  Hit and run or leaving the scene of a crash;
                                          mercial disqualification also result in a   non-
                                          commercial suspension, though the periods of     •  Racing;
                                          withdrawal may differ. In Georgia, it is possible
          The State of Georgia considers dangerous and                          •  Operating a motor vehicle with a revoked,
        negligent drivers to be a direct and immediate     to lose commercial driving privileges for LIFE   canceled, or suspended registration;
        threat to the welfare and safety of the general     upon the conviction of certain offenses. More
        public, and it is in the best interest of the citizens     information related to the commercial driver’s     •  Driving without insurance;
        of Georgia to immediately remove such drivers     license program is available on our website at     •  Driving while license is suspended, revoked,
        from the highways of this state. Therefore, the     dds.georgia.gov.   or canceled;
        Department of Driver Services is authorized
        to withdraw the license or driving privileges    Reporting Convictions     •  Refusal to weigh commercial motor vehicle;
        when evidence is obtained that the licensee is                          •  Violation of license restriction (at the discre-
        a habitually dangerous or negligent driver of     Georgia courts are required by law to report     tion of the trial court).
        a motor vehicle (from Georgia law §40-5-57)   the conviction of any offense that will result in a
                                                                              In addition to the offenses listed above, the li-
                                          negative impact on a licensee’s driving privilege     cense and/or driving privileges of an individual
        Types of Withdrawals              or that is otherwise required to be posted to the     under the age of 21 on the date of the conviction
                                          permanent driving history of an individual.
                                          This includes most traffic-related offenses as     will be suspended for the following offenses:
          The driver’s license of any individual, the eli-  well as certain non-traffic related offenses.       •  Reckless driving;
        gibility to obtain a driver’s license, or the ability   When the DDS receives a conviction for a
        to legally operate a motor vehicle in the State of   Georgia license holder, the record is updated to       •  Aggressive driving;
        Georgia may be impacted by one or more of the   reflect the conviction. If a conviction is received    •  Speeding 24 mph or more over the speed

        following actions:
                                          for an individual who holds a license from an-  limit;
                                          other   state or is the resident of another state,





        Cancellation                      the conviction information will be forwarded       •  Unlawful passing of a school bus;
          The Department of Driver Services is autho-  to the licensing authority of that state. If a non-    •  Improper passing on a hill or a curve;
        rized to cancel a license if the applicant fails to   resident, or a resident of Georgia who does not
        give the required or correct information needed   have a driver’s license, is convicted of certain of-    •  Any 4-point offense;
        at the time application is made, or if the indi-  fenses, the eligibility to obtain a Georgia driver’s    •  Four or more points in 12 months prior to

        vidual becomes otherwise ineligible after ap-  license and/or driving privileges in Georgia     age 18;
        plication has been made. A resident may reapply   will be suspended.
        for a license once the requirements have been   Convictions   reported to the Georgia DDS by




        satisfied and the resident is otherwise eligible.
                                          licensing authorities or courts in other states and
        Revocation                        nations will be placed on the driving record of
                                          a Georgia licensee or resident. The Department
          If a license is revoked, all driving privileges   will treat such convictions as if they had oc-
        are terminated and withdrawn until the end   curred in this state for the purpose of imposing
        of the period of time prescribed by the formal   license withdrawals.
        action of the Department. At the end of the re-
        vocation period, a resident may apply for a new
        license. Non-residents may apply for reinstate- Types of Suspensions
        ment of driving privileges.
                                            The Department will suspend the driving
        Suspension                        privileges of an individual in any of the follow-
          If a license is suspended, all driving privi-  ing non-conviction situations:
        leges are temporarily withdrawn for a specific     •  Refusal to take a chemical test for intoxica-
        period of time or until reinstatement require-
                                            tion;
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